No change for Marietta BOE

November 6, 2013

The makeup of the Marietta City Board of Education will remain the same, with all three incumbents elected to new four-year terms.

Retired teacher Karen Burton was the top vote-getter with 2,758 votes, according to final, unofficial totals released Tuesday night by the Washington County Board of Elections. She was followed by board Vice President Wendy Myers with 2,533 and board member Don Atkins with 2,110.

Challenger John Lehman, president of Alliance Industries Inc., came in fourth, with 1,427 votes.

Myers and Atkins said they look forward to continuing to address issues on which they've been working.

"I think there's still stuff ... I wanted to see through," said Myers, the owner of Mitcham Group Apartments, mother of three school-age daughters and member of the board for six years. "So I'm happy to be there and work for the kids."

Myers said the district is facing uncertainty with its insurance due to the federal health care law, including a "Cadillac tax" on high-end plans, and the board is also expecting to see some administrative departures.

Fact Box

At a glance

Marietta City Board of Education

Karen Burton - 2,758

Wendy K. Myers - 2,533

Don Atkins - 2,110

John Lehman - 1,427

Source: Washington County Board of Elections.

"We already know some administrators who are going to be retiring," she said.

Both Myers and Atkins are members of the board's technology committee and said they feel the district is making good progress in that area.

"We're living in a technology world, and we've got to get these students up to date that way," said Atkins, who is retired and has served on the board for four years.

The district recently hired Beachwood-based Smart Solutions to act as its information technology coordinator. Atkins said they are now looking at how to implement a "bring-your-own-device" policy so students can use their tablets or smart phones to aid the educational process at school.

However, "we know we have a lot of students who really can't afford computers and that sort of thing," he said.

To address that, Atkins said he would like to develop opportunities for students to access devices like those after school or even find ways for their families to purchase them at reduced prices.